Storytelling around the Globe

Strategies

One way to start the unit is to engage in conversations on what defines a superhero. Fingeroth points out that a superhero has strength of character, a system of values, and determination. He also points out that these are characteristics of a supervillain.² We will discuss supervillains later in the unit. It is important that students define the word themselves in order to be able to distinguish the meaning. Perhaps each student might come to a conclusion that a superhero is subjective and therefore can take shape in a variety of ways depending on the person making the decision. However, it is important to find the commonalities within the discussion so there is a framework from which students can work.

After a discussion of a framework for a superhero, then students can discuss what they know about superheroes both from comics and from movies. Discuss with students what traits certain superheroes have and how to they use their superhuman powers. Discussion should also lead to supervillains, which are essential to the superhero comic story. Without the supervillain, many of the stories would not exist and interestingly, we wouldn't get to see the superhero exhibit his or her supreme power. From this discussion on superheroes students should understand the vast appeal these characters have for many types of people. Implement to students that these superheroes have well developed characters that are in some regards believable to the common audience and that is why they continue to be popular. A poorly written and developed character will not last and readers will not embrace them.

As an indispensable element in studying this unit, students will need to know how to read a comic book. Instructing students on how to read a comic is important because the images play such an important role in the story, a reader cannot look at just the words. The rules are essentially the same as reading a novel whereby the reader goes from left to right and top to bottom. However, there is the issue of different frame sizes and how to follow the story if one frame takes the space of two regular sized frames. Demonstrate with actual comic books how to sequentially read a comic and show some examples where the frame sizes differ on the page. In addition, the discussion of reading the dialogue before or after looking at the picture should be addressed. In essence it is probably an individual preference but it should be pointed out to students that both ways need to be explored. For some students the above information will be common knowledge, but for others this may be new information that they perhaps would have been too shy to inquire about before or simply had not come across previously. After the lesson on sequentially reading the comic book, students should be ready to engage in a sequencing activity. Provide for students comic strips that have been cut into frames. For an extra challenge for gifted students, remove the dialogue and all words. One page of frames is all that is minimally necessary. Ask students to study each frame and decide what the action and storyline is. Students should then reconstruct the comic in a logical order and explain what is happening. For the gifted students, they should write any words or dialogue that is missing.

One way to enhance creative writing in students is through the image. Through studying comics and images students begin to see that there is a story being told both through the words and also through the images. In the professional world of comics there is one person who creates and writes the comic story. Once that story has been created the writer seeks out an illustrator. That illustrator reads the story and designs pictures based on the essence of the story. The writer and illustrator collaborate together to create the final comic book. (Also, many times there is a colorist and a letterer, but we won't get that detailed here.) The students will do something similar, but in a different order. Students will be provided with frames from comics, preferably one in which there is dialogue and action. The teacher will provide these images with the dialogue removed. Students will write a short story telling the events that happened just before, during, and just after the image. The students should be given free choice to work independently or with a partner. They should also be given more than once choice of image from which to choose. The goal of this activity is to allow students to think creatively in writing a story. Students will need to follow the images as a guide to creating the story. If the students know the characters in the image they can certainly use that information in the story and logically guide the narration with including the superpowers and abilities of the character. However, some students may not know the character in the image, and that is fine as well. They can create the name and powers of the character based on what they see and what they imagine is happening.

Origin stories are fundamental to the character development and progression of a story. It is during this study of origins of superheroes that an understanding of motifs and standards can be had. Refer to the section below titled Superhero Motifs for a further explanation. Reading superhero origin stories is almost a right of passage to comic book enthusiasts. It is so crucial to the storyline that skipping it or not knowing it can cause disruption in the enjoyment of the comic. In studying origin stories from various superheroes such as Superman, Batman and Spider-Man, one can begin to realize that not only are there similarities among all of them, but that the characters they embody are ones that we tend to admire and strive to replicate. In looking at other literary stories, we see that the origin of the character has everything to do with the choices he or she makes in subsequent stories. It also gives us a foundation of knowledge about him or her and thus we, as readers, can follow along the journey of the character's life and have a sense of what the outcome should be.

Origin stories are a key factor in studying superheroes; however there are differences that arise when you study the comic book and the theatrical movie. Many of the big screen movies that have been released in the recent years tell the origin story of the character. This is, no doubt, to catch up the audience on who the character is just in case you didn't read the comic books. Because a good portion of the movie is usually dedicated to the origin story, it is not surprising that it tends to be more detailed than most comic books are. With this adjustment, come story changes.

One example in particular is Superman. For instance, the comic book origin story of Superman as told by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster has slight differences from the origin story included in the movie released in 1978 and directed by Richard Donner. The examples are taken from The Dailies: Volume 1 found on the DC Comics website. The comic, released in 1938, indicates that Jor-El is building a model space flier and is only able to complete that, which holds a single person, before Krypton begins to be destroyed.³ In Superman - The Movie, no mention is given to the building of the ship; we are shown that it is built to fit Kal-L only.⁴ The comic strip shows the ship as resembling a rocket⁵; the movie shows the ship as being made of a special crystal resembling a multi-pointed star.⁶ In the comic strip Kal-L arrives on Earth as an infant.⁷ In the movie Kal-L arrives as a toddler, having aged as he passed through the galaxies.⁸ These are very specific differences between the two versions and it will be good to show the strip to the students before watching a clip of the movie. Discuss with students the relevance of the changes and whether or not they change the actual storyline. In addition, discuss reasons why the movie producer might decide to incorporate the changes and what benefit he or she might anticipate. Asking students to compare origin stories such as Superman by using different forms of media can incite critical thinking skills but can also lead to a discussion of pros and cons. Is one story better than the other and are certain elements necessary to include, no matter the media form?

Another example is Iron Man. Some of the changes in the Iron Man story arise from the difference in the time period when the comic was released compared to the movie. In the comic, released in 1963, the war setting is Vietnam while the war setting of the movie, released in 2008, is Afghanistan⁹. Because of the difference in setting, the characters are also changed slightly. In the comic, the main enemy who is forcing Tony to make weapons is Wong Chu who is clearly Vietnamese. In the movie, the two differences are that there are actually two main "bad guys" but their names aren't given clearly in the storyline. In addition, these two men are Middle Eastern, perhaps Afghan. Continuing with these character differences is the man who helps Tony build his iron suit while in the cave. In the comic Yinsen is of Asian decent while in the movie he is of Middle Eastern decent¹⁰. In the comic, both Yinsen and Stark collaborate to build the transistor plate to keep Tony's heart beating. In the movie, Yinsen does this by himself. Later Tony builds a better one that does not have to be attached to a car battery. Other aspects of the origin story remain similar.

Now that students have studied superheroes and specifically looked into origin stories, it will be time for students to once again use their creative writing skills to create an original superhero or supervillain. Again, students can pair up with a classmate, especially if there are distinct talents within the group. As mentioned earlier, each comic that is published is collaboration between a writer and an illustrator. It is very rare that the two are one in the same. Because of this, students should be able to collaborate in the same style in order to create their superhero or supervillain. The motifs are mentioned below and students should recognize and appreciate that there are some standards when it comes to creating a comic book superhero. Adhering to those standards will really be the only guideline in this creative project. The main focus should be the creation of an origin story for their superhero or supervillain. If desired, the student may wish to create a first issue as well providing a structured storyline beyond the origin story.